Marcial loses close bout vs Chinese bet, settles for Asiad silver

MANILA, Philippines – Filipino boxer Eumir Marcial settled for the silver medal in the 19th Asian Games after losing to home bet Tanglatihan Tuohetaerbieke Thursday night at the HZ Gymnasium in Hangzhou, China.

All five judges scored the bout 29-28 in favor of Tuohetaerbieke, the runner-up in the men’s 80 kilogram division in the World Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan earlier in the year.

Marcial targeted Tuohetaerbieke's body early on.

A right by Marcial that connected on the Chinese boxer’s head with less than a minute remaining in the first round resulted in a standing eight count in favor of the Filipino.

The taller Tuohetaerbieke then came out of the second round swinging, as the referee also had to count a standing eight on Marcial, leveling things up.

With all judges scoring the bout 19-19 at the end of the second round, both boxers slugged it out in the final round.

The Olympic bronze medalist landed clean hooks in the third round, while Tuohetaerbieke connected on jabs and straights.

Ultimately, the close victory went to the local fighter.

Marcial’s runner-up finish gave the Philippines its second silver medal, the lone Asiad podium finish for the country's boxing program.

Currently, the Philippines has two golds, two silvers and 10 bronze medals.